Shillong: Former Shillong MP and Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president Vincent H. Pala has recently accused the Meghalaya government of keeping scientific mining applications pending for seven to eight years while imposing a 100-hectare threshold that, he alleged, prevents a large number of local mine owners from seeking licences. His remarks came amid Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s appeal to the Centre to reconsider the existing 100-hectare requirement and bring the threshold down to a level that can be implemented by local mine owners while retaining safeguards for workers and the environment. Pala said the State government could itself modify the SOP and forward a proposal to the Centre, instead of merely holding discussions in Delhi.
“The SOP doesn’t depend on Delhi that depends on the state government only. They can change and send a proposals to them. He went to Delhi and talk only without sending a proposal for this. that’s only a drama, otherwise it’s nothing,” the former Shillong MP said.
Pala questioned why only two of 18 applicants had received permission for scientific mining, alleging that the government had been sitting on the files for years. He also criticised the 100-hectare criterion, claiming it was not specified in the MMDR Act and effectively restricted applications to a few large landholders. “There are 18 people who applied for the scientific mining. Only two of them have got, for the last seven eight years the government has sat on the file. Why not given two all those people,” Pala said.
He advocated reducing the threshold to between 4.5 and five hectares, arguing that smaller mining areas would make clearances easier at the State and regional levels. Pala alleged that the 100-hectare requirement was intended to discourage applications rather than facilitate scientific mining. “The intention of the government to have a SOP of 100 hectors of land, is to scrutinise the people or rather to stop the people from applying. So the government say something and do another thing,” the MPCC President said.
Rejecting the government’s reference to a draft proposal, Pala said there was no need to wait for another draft to act on existing applications and urged the State to implement the law while processing pending cases. “There is no question of draft proposal, the law is already there, the government have to implement the law in a good spirit,” the Meghalaya Congress Chief said.
He added, “As long as this draft proposal going on why not give licence to 18-19 people who have applied.”
